Important Location: Parc de Ciudadella

Parc de Ciudadella is very monumental to the city of Barcelona. It is one of the few green parks in Barcelona. It was designed in the 1870's, but these designs were later re-modified to host the Universal Exhibition of 1888. 1888 was a very important year in Barcelona, because the Universal Exhibition was the first major event ever held in Barcelona. Today, Parc de Ciudadella offers many leisure activities for the locals and tourists. Many people go to the park to run, rent rowboats on the small pond, visit the beautiful waterfall, or to enter the Barcelona Zoo. The park is very well taken care of and the landscape is beautiful. Every time I run outside, I run through Parc de Ciudadella. The park reminds me of home, because there are always friendly faces in the park.

The photo to the right is a picture of the Castle of the Three Dragons. It was the star piece in the 1888 Universal Exhibition. It's very important to Barcelona because it may possibly be the first modernist building in Barcelona. This building was created by Domenech Montanes. This building demonstrates many modern pieces such as red brick, iron, glass windows, plumbing, running water and sewage. Due to the many modern features of this building, it is very important to the Catalan modernist culture.

Important Location: The Olympic Museum

 To the right is a picture inside the Olympic Stadium. It was originally built in 1927 for the International Exhibition of 1929. In 1989, it was modernized to host the 1992 Olympics. These Olympics changed the city of Barcelona as we know it today. Of all the cities to ever host the Olympics, Barcelona is said to be the most successful. Prior to the games, the city was renovated. New infrastructure was built, more roadways were created, and a new city was created, Olympic Village. Olympic Village is a waterfront development where a harbor was developed along with 4 km of beaches. All these advancements to the city positively effected the city. Unemployment rates decreased, the economy increases, tourism rates increases, and the Catalan culture was broadcasted globally. Today, the city is still reaping huge benefits from an event that occurred nearly twenty years ago. Since I have been in Barcelona, I've heard from many people that we probably wouldn't be studying in Barcelona had it not been for the 1992 Olympics.

In this picture, you see a spirally structure, which is a communication tower. This tower had a huge impact on the city of Barcelona. It enabled the games to be broadcasted globally, which ultimately broadcasted the city, as well as the games. This tower is responsible for making the games as successful as they were.

Important Location: Montserrat

The Montserrat Monastery is one of the most important symbols of Catalan Culture. Inside the Monastery, I found the Black Madonna, the Virgin of Montserrat, also the patroness of Catalonia. Visiting the Black Madonna was truly a spiritual experience. I thought it was amazing that years ago, people tried to move that Virgin, however she became too heavy and the Monastery was built around her. The basilica also goes back in history with Catalan culture. When Catalan was made illegal, the church in Montserrat was one of the first churches to begin supporting the Catalan Culture and keeping this culture alive.

To the right is a picture that I took from the highest point on the Montserrat mountain. Many of my friends who had already visited Montserrat told me that I had to visit Montserrat since I love hiking and nature. So I finally did. The views from the top of the mountain were absolutely spectacular. One of my friends hiked to the top of the mountain in a little under an hour. The trail was beautiful, along with the mountains. I've never seen mountains with rounded edges before, and it was so beautiful.

Important Location: Sagrada Familia

Antoni Gaudi, a Catalan architect, designed and built the unfinished Sagrada Familia. The basilica, Sagrada Familia, is extremely important to the Catalan Culture. One reason being its modernistic style. The Catalans are known for their modernist style, and many people believe modernism could not have occurred anywhere else at that time. The Bouergeoise commissioned these projects to up and coming artists because of the huge economic boom. La Sagrada Familia was built during a time of continuous anarchists violence. Gaudi built the Sagrada Familia as a temple to forgive the city of its sins. Today, thousands of people visit the basilica to see modernist artwork and learn about the history of the basilica in the museum.

As I was walking through the museum, I came across a very interesting fact. I read that the tortoise was built underneath the columns, because the tortoise represents the foundation of the universe. Since my visit to Sagrada Familia, I have not forgotten that quote. I found this quote extremely interesting because Gaudi incorporated nature into every part of his work. But I've never come seen him use an animal to represent such a strength of the world.

Leisure Activity: The Boqueria

 One place that I have visited more than any other place in Barcelona has been the Boqueria. It is my all time favorite place. Before coming to Barcelona, I have never seen something so spectacular. There are hundreds of fruit, vegetable, nut, fish, meat, etc. stands. And each stand is displayed perfectly. There is never a thing that is out of place! I go to the Boqueria at least twice a week and buy their fresh produce. I've tried fruits that I have never even heard of before, such as dragon-fruit and lychees. What I find so infatuating is the wide array of exotic produce. I'm from the north-eastern part of the US and we don't ever see half of the produce that is offered in the Boqueria. And I find it so unique that Barcelona has a market solely for fresh products.

I fell in love with the fruit smoothies that many of the stands sell. There are so many different combinations of fruit flavors mixed together, and they are so delicious. What's really amazing is how cheap they are. At home, I'm used to paying $4-$5 dollars for a smoothie that's made with fruit syrups. But these are only 1,5 euros for a real fruit smoothie. If I had to choose my favorite thing about the Boqueria, it would definitely be the freshly made fruit smoothies!

Leisure Activity: Barcelona Half-Marathon

I joined the running club in the beginning of the semester, and at the first session, this girl Sierra and I decided we wanted to run the Barcelona half marathon, so we signed up and did it. I've never done anything like it before, but I was so excited! The atmosphere was so surreal. The runners and the crowd were so supportive, which was so helpful. If it weren't for the push from all of people, there is no way I would have been able to finish the race. So the actual race:  The first 6-8 miles were a breeze for me. Probably because that's what I was used to running. Then miles 9-12 were really difficult for me. My body was getting tired, and I kept playing mind games with myself, which made me mentally exhausted. I think that worse than my body being tired. But I kept pushing myself to each KM marker (which by the way absolutely sucked because you know how much you still need to run!) Every 5 KM they had a water stop, which was great. Towards the end, I could tell my sugar levels were getting low, because my hands started to shake. So I was hoping at the next water stop, I could get powerade, but they were completely out of them. So I was dying! At one point, I said whatever, and I grabbed one off of the ground and drank it. I needed it! Finally, I was getting closer and closer to the finish line! But before I reached that point, I decided to walk for 30 seconds, and this guy behind me yelled and waved me on, which definitely motivated me to keep running. Ugh! So challenging. Finally, the last KM, I pushed through all of the pain and finished! It was such a great feeling of accomplishment! I ran it in 1 hour 53 minutes and 53 seconds! I was so happy with that time, because I didn't train for it at all! I literally ran 3 times in the past month before that, because I was getting so acclimated to Barcelona! I still can't believe I ran it! I think it's an amazing feeling to say, "Oh, when I was abroad, I ran a half marathon in Barcelona."  After the race, I literally didn't do anything the rest of the day. My body was so exhausted, and my knees killed!

Deciding to run the half-marathon has been the one of the greatest accomplishments for me in Spain. I got to experience it with thousands of people from all over the world. Running the marathon also gave me a sense of belonging to the city, itself. Hundreds of locals were at different markets cheering the runners on, and the runners, themselves, were cheering other runners on. It was such a rewarding experience, and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Cultural Activity: Castelles

Castelles in St. James Square

This photo was taken at the beginning of the ceremony, when each different group was introducing their team. The towers in the beginning of the ceremony were basic towers of people, usually only three people high. Before coming to Barcelona, I've never heard of the Castelle's. However, in one of my classes three castelle members came in and spoke to us and taught us the basic of the Castelle structure. After learning about the Castelle's, I became extremely fascinated. What I found most interesting was that the Castelle's are used to represent Catalan culture. The members devote hours a week to create human towers to represent their Catalan pride. Not only are parents involved, but many children, too. While I was watching the human towers being built, I became very anxious watching the small children climb to the top of the tower. It amazes me that parents allow their children to be involved in such an activity! But this demonstrates the Catalans devotion to the Catalan community.

This photo was taken towards the end of the ceremony. The castelles were building human towers 5/6 persons high! It was unbelievable to witness such an extraordinary event. The thing I found most interesting about the castelles was when the people collapsed the tower. First the person on top slid down all of the people. He/she made it look so simple! Then the next group of people slid down the others, and this continued until the tower was completely collapsed. And they did it within 30 seconds! Watching the Castelle's performance was probably the most unique thing I witnessed in Barcelona.